


Best Friends

by Cats_Cradle39



Series: Peter B. Parker/Reader Works [2]
Category: Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, B stands for BLIND, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Peter B. Parker - Freeform, Peter B. Parker Needs a Hug, let peter have good things please, protect Peter B. Parker, set throughout the movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 01:24:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19096897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cats_Cradle39/pseuds/Cats_Cradle39
Summary: Peter was pretty sure him and MJ were supposed to be together. When he gets sucked into Miles' universe, he realizes just how wrong he was.





	Best Friends

Peter was sure that he and MJ were destiny. Fated to be together no matter what tough battles they had to face.

It made sense, right? She was his first crush, first girlfriend, first _wife._ She was Mrs. Peter Parker!

_Was._

He nursed the lukewarm beer against his chest, his other hand holding up the Newspaper before him. He glared at it, eyes narrowed and red rimmed from something other than the buzz from his three beers.

_‘The Daily Bugle’ Editor Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn announce engagement!_

He threw the paper against the wall and made it stick with a web, the headline just barely poking through. He knew though, the words had been burned into his eyes. They’d probably be there when he closed his eyes. Luckily they stung too much for him to try at the moment.

A knock rapped on his door and he sat up in alarm, his beer spilling over his suit and sweatpants. “Shit!” He hissed, quickly grabbing an old shirt (it was probably dirty anyway) to dab at the liquid.

Another knock. “Peter?”

His head snapped up and his eyes widened in horror as he realized who was at the door. He sprung into action, trying to not spill anymore of his drink. In his haste to make things somewhat presentable for the sudden visitor, he accidentally wound up throwing his beer bottle out the window.

The sound of the glass breaking made him wince, but there was something more important than environmental guilt. He’d go sweep it up later… probably. If he ended up getting the time or motivation to do it.

When he opened the door he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. His shoulders sagged at seeing you standing there, just the sight of you making him relax a little. Seeing you standing there, taking him in with worried eyes that reminded him so much of May, made his eyes misty.

“Oh, Peter…” You trailed off, letting yourself in and closing the door behind you before pulling the man into a tight hug. 

The consoling tone and warm embrace felt too much like home for Peter to resist. He finally, _finally_ broke down, burying his face in the junction of your scarf-covered neck to hide his tears.

The two of you ended up sitting on his bed- well, you sat on the mattress against his wall while he laid his head in your lap. You combed your fingers through his hair, keeping quiet as you let him sniffle and smear tear streaks into the fabric of your sweats.

Peter calmed down from his sobbing at least ten minutes ago, the rest of the time occupied by the sounds of your combined breathing and the occasional sniffle. It was a kind of peace Peter had almost forgotten, and he was pretty sure he could fall asleep on your pillowy thighs.

The middle aged man was too tired to be embarrassed of the position, he had just cried on you for nearly an hour, there was no saving any of his dignity.  

You knew what was bugging him, it was the reason you were here after all. The moment you saw the Bugle headline on the way home from work, you knew. You knew Peter would be like this, holed up in his apartment trying not to break down, _again._ The situation caused something sour to curl up in your gut, but you pushed it away for Peter’s sake. No matter how upset you felt, Peter probably felt worse.  
  


~

 

The two of you met years ago when you fresh out of college, before him and MJ tied the knot. In fact, it was one of the couple’s many infamous ‘breaks’ due to their... different career paths. 

Luigi’s, the pizzeria around the corner of your apartment building, was where you first met. He was less cynical then, a lighter pep in his step. He wasn’t his happiest but he wasn’t wallowing in his own self deprecation like he does now. You could tell that he carried the world on his shoulders and it made your heart ache for him.

He came in and ordered a slice, you could tell by the look on his face that the smell of the fresh mozzarella and herbs had got to him. The glazed look on his face when he stared into the display reminded you of a puppy who was staring at bacon. It was… adorable.

“Oh no!” He looked horrified when he realized he left his wallet at home and therefore couldn’t buy his lunch. He gave you a pitiful look, hazel brown eyes looking like he was two seconds away from crying.

You found yourself giving him _two_ slices anyway, including a nod towards the fridge so he could grab a drink too. “Don’t worry about it, it’s on me.” You assured with a small smile.

The look on his face was priceless, eyes widening in shock before his features relaxed into the most grateful and endearing smile you had ever seen. It made your heart skip a beat and your cheeks warm pleasantly. “Thank you so much...” He breathed out, eyes flickering between your face and the white paper bag being held out to him.

As soon as he took your offering his phone went off, his face falling as he checked his mobile. “Damn.” He murmured and looked back up at you. “I’ll make this up to you, I promise.” He said before power walking out, breaking into a sprint as soon as he got outside.

You blinked as you registered what exactly just happened. You gave a guy free pizza… why? Because he was cute? Because he was sad? That’s life, everyone is sad about something.

But… you wanted to know more about him. You wanted him to come back soon.

And he did! Not right away, but a few days later he came back to the pizzeria with a sheepish smile and an offer for coffee. You accepted, you hung out together, and found you really liked his company. A year later and you two were thick as thieves, always hanging out together when you both had free time. It was amazing, being so close with another person.

Too close, actually. It started becoming harder to hide your growing feelings from Peter, especially since one night he appeared on your doorstep with a few bags and a sad smile. His landlord kicked him out and you, the sucker you were, let Peter in without a second thought. At first, the plan was for him to find a place by the end of the week, but then that turned into two _months._

One night the two of you were lounging on your couch, him sitting up with your feet in his lap as the two of you watched whatever was on the tv. Truthfully you weren’t even been paying attention, your mind focused purely on the feelings you were getting ready to confess to Peter.

Something about the two of you felt right, like you were meant to be. Even in this moment, as Peter’s thumb played with the seam of your ankle sock, you felt like together was where you belonged. But…

Your perfect opportunity for confessing your affections was destroyed as he turned towards you and started to speak, a sheepish smile on his face.

“So I uh… me and MJ are back together.” He stated like it was the perfect conversation starter. Unfortunately for him, that was a conversation _ruiner_ for you. He kept going though.

“I decided I’m going to move in with her… really give us a chance to have a normal life, you know?” He told you about Spider-Man a few months back and you had to say you weren’t surprised. Peter was so strong for so many people that he rarely ever stopped to think of himself. He was very much superhero material.

All you could manage was a nod, sitting up and pulling your legs from his lap. Suddenly touching him almost felt like holding your hand above an open flame, the longer you touched him the worse it hurt.

“That’s great, Pete. I’m happy for the two of you.” You replied, the words tasting overly sweet on your tongue. Something about Peter and Mary Jane just felt so wrong. Whether it was because of your feelings for Peter or your sixth sense, you weren’t sure. But honestly nothing sounded better at that moment than to curl up alone in bed and try to soothe the aching in your chest.

 

~

 

So now you were both here years later, you stupidly pining for your best friend while he pined over his ‘dream girl.’ Perhaps you were both a little stupid, but you definitely took the cake as you allowed the man you loved to use you as a sponge to soak up all his tears over his ex.

“Hey.”

Your attention was taken as you looked down at the sleepy-eyedPeter. The crying seemed to take a lot out of him, he wasn’t even trying to move your hand away from his messy hair. You imagined that the human touch (that wasn’t trying to kill him) wasn’t something he got often anymore. He looked like he was about to say something, his mouth opening before his eyebrows furrowed.

“Pete?” You realized he wasn’t looking at you but _past_ you, up at the ceiling. You looked up and nearly let out a shriek as a huge black hole thing opened up. Furniture started circling the room in a tornado fashion, causing that shriek to actually come out as Peter jumped into sudden action.

“No No NO!-” Peter repeated frantically as he was lifted into the black hole, the sight leaving you frozen as you watch the love of your life get sucked into a blur of colors.

 

* * *

 

Peter landed unceremoniously on the ground after the portal thing spit him out. He groaned as he got up, glaring up at the swirl of colors that suddenly disappeared as soon as it came.

“What the hell was that?” He grumbled to himself, scanning his surroundings to find that he was on a rooftop in Times Square, a few miles from his apartment and you.

He lifted his mask to pull it on, but stopped when his eyes locked onto the giant screen in front of him.

 

**NEW YORK’S HERO, SPIDER-MAN, FOUND DEAD AT 26.**

 

The sight confused him greatly, because he was still alive and very much _not_ 26, but that’s when he spotted the difference between himself and the person on the screen. _That_ Peter looked more relaxed, didn’t have bags under his eyes. His _blue_ eyes were full of that same optimism and happiness he used to have.

Younger, happier, more put together than Peter.

But dead.

This couldn’t be right.

He looked around at all the other screens, seeing his double’s face in every direction. He vaguely remembers a time when he wished his face was on these screens, but not for this reason.

He shook his head and swung away, not wanting to see or hear anymore of the news about the death of the other him. He needed to find out where he was, why he was here. The only thing he was sure of was that this wasn’t _his_ universe.

But in leaving so suddenly, he missed one of the biggest differences between the two realities. Your face appeared on the screen, looking almost exactly the same save for a younger face. Next to you was a picture of May, older than the May that died in his reality.

 

_“Survived by his wife and his aunt, our hero Spider-Man is gone.”_

 

~

 

It wasn’t until Peter attended his own memorial service (and what a weird experience _that_ was) that he saw perhaps the biggest mindfuck in this universe. He watched perched from a building across from City Hall, having the best seat in the house. Behind Mayor Osborne (whom the sight of made Peter’s stomach twist with anger) was a line of Peter’s most important people.

MJ and Harry were there, and to rub salt into his wounds they were _holding hands._ It made his heart ache, he wondered if this universe’s Peter was as miserable as he was when he saw them together. Did _anything_ ever work out for him in his love life?

You were there, of course. The sight of the younger you took him back to his intern days, before Octavius turned evil and Peter had lost everything one by one. Without realizing it he smiled, despite this fucked up situation. You had that effect on him in his universe too.

Being around you was like his personal sanctuary. He didn’t have to pretend to have his life together, you knew he was a struggling mess. As Spider-Man he wasn’t allowed to have personal problems, but as Peter Parker he had so many that it was hard to keep himself looking (somewhat) put together. You were the only one who was really _there_ for him, who knew him inside and out. That’s why you were his best friend.

When his belly started to grow rounder from his ‘work outs’ (which consisted of lifting slice after slice of pizza into his mouth) you didn’t just scold him and tell him to take better care of himself. You actually started inviting yourself over almost every day with a dinner that had _vegetables_ in it.

 _‘You need to eat actual food, Pete. Tomato might be a fruit but Pizza isn’t going to give Spider-Man the right vitamins he needs.’_ You said to him as you gave him a plate of the first home cooked meal he had in nearly a month. He could still remember how good your cooking was, it made him wonder if this version of you cooked nearly as well.

The way you took care of him reminded him of home, of the last person standing in line. His aunt May, looking so heartbroken as she stared at one of the banners with the blond Peter’s face.

Seeing her again, alive, _old…_ it made his eyes misty with ugly regret for what he couldn’t do. He didn’t help May enough, he wasn’t _there_ enough. Maybe if he had been a better nephew instead of focusing on being everyone’s hero…

“I could talk all day about the ways Spider-Man helped the city, but instead I give the stand to someone who possibly knew him better than any of us. His wife.” He took a few steps back and held his hand out towards the line of four people.

Peter’s eyes widened and he perked up, abandoning his coffee cup on the roof as he webbed onto a statue to get closer to the stage. Wife? As in not ex-wife? As in, this Peter actually did something right in this universe?

But it wasn’t MJ who came forward.

Instead it was you, your eyes downcast until you reached the podium and looked up into the crowd and cameras. A startled ‘WHAT?’ left Peter’s throat and he ducked down out of sight before anyone could spot him.

He married you in this universe?

Honestly it wasn’t as disturbing as it was surprising. He wasn’t blind, you were obviously beautiful. It just… didn’t seem real.

Truthfully, there was a time when Peter thought about how it might feel to hold you and take you out like you deserved. The day he walked into the pizzeria and got two free slices from the pretty cashier made him think that maybe he had some good luck after all.

The two of you grabbed coffee after a few days and ended up becoming fast friends. He remembered when he crashed at your apartment. The landlord evicted him after Peter forgot to pay rent, _again._ He showed up at your door and you let him in without him needing to beg.

_‘What are friends for?’_

The two of you fell into a routine. You both had work, he’d come to the pizzeria for lunch, and when you got home you made dinner for the both of you, whether Peter was home or not. You knew he had duties as Spider-Man, so you never rushed for him to come home.

It was easy. Comfortable. It felt right.

Before he could muster up the courage to really think about his feelings for you, MJ confessed that she wanted to try again, for real. Thoughts of what could potentially be took a back seat and he accepted the offer. After all, it seemed like he and MJ were like fate.

But now here Peter was, doubting his fate as he was presented with you. His best friend and apparently widow.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming tonight.” Your voice rang through the speakers and made Peter come out from his hiding spot. He needed to hear what you had to say. What was so different here?

“I stare out at the crowd today and I see an ocean of red and blue. Each and every one of you came to show your support for a hero to our city. I know Spider-Man would appreciate that, but he isn’t why I’m here.

“My husband Peter-” The way that sounded made a shiver run through Peter’s very being. “-didn’t consider himself better than us, stronger than us. He was one of us, another member of this faceless crowd. He had problems, things that stressed him, and yes he did fall down a few times.” He watched a fond smile spread on your face. “He was human, and yet he gave me the strength to want to get out of bed every day.

“From the moment I met him I knew he was someone special. His mind was brilliant, his heart pure. He wanted nothing more than to help make the world a better place for every one of us, and I’d like to think he has done an excellent job. When I see all of you here in this crowd, I see people who have been touched by Peter’s heart and courage as I have, and I can’t thank you all enough for keeping him alive in that way.”

Peter stared wide eyed at the stage, his heart racing a mile a minute as you continued. “There may be some dark times ahead, but no one thing I learned from my husband is that no matter how many punches life throws at you, the only one who can stop you from getting back up is yourself. Find the strength in yourself to help one another, to be the hero you all saw in Spider-Man. Because he saw the heroes in all of you.”

He watched you take a few steps back and smile to the crowd, signalling you were finished. There was a sudden roar of applause following your speech. It was a dull noise to Peter though, who was still so focused on your words.

He had so many questions. His main one; did you feel the same about him in _his_ reality?

Oh fuck, he really hoped not. For your sake. Then again, you were a lot better off than him. You could do a million times better than a loser from Queens who couldn’t even afford a real bed.

The thought of you with someone else though… Oh that didn’t sit well with him at all.

Oh fuck, maybe he actually did have feelings for you?

_Fuck!_

He decided that he needed to leave here ASAP, needed to find more clues as to what happened so he could get back to his reality.

 

~

 

Okay, so, maybe him and MJ weren’t as fated as he thought.

Peter sat alone on the ledge of the Empire State Building, eating from a box of Dunkin’ Donuts donut holes. He stared out on the horizon as he contemplated everything he learned from the other spiders. Not all of the universes were like this one, where the two of you were married.

In Penny’s world, you were her best friend. You did everything together. That wasn’t so different than Peter’s world. Then again she was only a kid, who knows what could happen when they were older?

In Porker’s world, you were another pig who helped him and May Porker in the fight against crime. Still important, but at least not married. He didn’t want to know how it worked in the pig world anyway.

He could tell Noir was a different story. From the moment Peter mentioned your name, the monochromed man’s face softened under his mask. Noir sounded absolutely enchanted when talking about you, calling you his ‘old lady’ and ‘the one'. Peter could hear the pride and adoration in the man’s voice. It scared him. The last time he had seen someone talk about their wife like that was… Uncle Ben.

When Peter finally got to Gwen, he saw how the teen’s face went downcast and she refused to meet his eyes. “She… we don’t talk anymore. After you died… I don’t think she ever recovered.”

He had to get back to you.

 

~

 

After Miles let him go through the portal, Peter fell back into his universe. He was elated to finally be able to go back to his shitty apartment, something he never thought he’d say. 

Most of all he was ready to swing to your place (after a shower because _Jesus_ he stunk) and talk to you. His near death experiences and the jump to another universe had him coming back with a whole new perspective.

Peter saw you at the banquet Kingpin had thrown in his honor. You looked so stunning, but so sad. The black dress clung to your form as you walked around greeting guests and making small talk. He was barely able to control himself from pulling you into a hug when you walked by him. The only thing stopping him was Gwen, who knew all too well what it felt like to be in Peter’s current position.

However neither Peter nor Gwen accounted for how appetizing Peter’s bread cart looked. You appeared between them, clearing your throat and giving a small wave that had Peter goofily waving back.

“Uh, hi. Can my table get some more bread please?” You asked, pointing back at your table. The two waiters dressed in Spider-Man costumes stared blankly back at you. “Hello?” You asked, for which you got an ‘Uhh…’ from the man dressed in the more original Spider-Man costume.

You let out a forced calm sigh. “Alright, I’ll ask someone else.” You turned to find another bread cart, and perhaps a manager, but were stopped by a hand on yours. “Wait!”

Your breath caught in your throat as you felt the heat from the very familiar hand. Maybe a tiny more hesitant, but the same size and feel. The feel of the suit was what really had you hesitating to pull away. If you hadn’t watched as they lowered your husband into the ground, you would’ve sworn this was him. For an instant you wanted to ask, but it would be silly.

As soon as you turned back to face the man, a basket of bread was unceremoniously pushed into your face. “Here you go ma’am!” The female exclaimed, not sounding old enough to be working here at all.

“Gwen!” The man hissed and pulled the bread from your face. “Sorry miss. Here you go. Sorry about that. Would you like a glass of champagne or something? Maybe a nice Rosé?” Your heart skipped a beat at the man naming her favorite kind of wine. There was no way he could know…

You held your hand up and immediately wrapped your arm around your stomach. “Sorry. I can’t drink.” You uncomfortably shifted just a little, but enough for the two spider people to notice. They stiffened at the minor, yet ground shaking implication.

“O-oh.” The man choked out and nodded quickly. “Sorry.” He was stuck frozen, watching as you quickly grabbed the bread basket and headed back to your table to avoid anymore awkwardness.

Watching you walk away from him had never been so painful.

So Peter had a plan now. He was going to find you and explain everything, including the feelings he had long muted under the constant weight of his self-assigned responsibility.

He landed in his apartment, at least what he thought was his apartment. He frowned as he looked around, seeing the place… clean. It didn’t even smell like old socks and oil-soaked cardboard. Instead it smelled… lemony.

“Peter?”

He turned to see you standing at his apartment window, eyes wide and starting to water as you took in his form. You sounded so relieved, so full of emotion. But it’s how you always sounded when talking to him. How could he be so blind all these years?

Before you could say anything else he used his webs to pull you to him, a puff of air escaping your lips as you were ‘yoinked’ into his arms. “What-”

Peter leaned down to bury his face in your neck, taking in how nice you smelled. You always smelled so nice… “God I missed you so much. Thanks for cleaning my apartment.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and let out a wobbly laugh, the tears starting to flow freely now. “I was so worried… I thought…” You shuddered and held him tighter, not wanting him to be taken from you again. “A whole week…”

He pulled away to just stare at you, a sheepish grin on his face. “Yeah, it’s a really long story. I’ll explain it all but let me just hold you right now, okay?” His heart skipped as he took his own leap of faith, hoping that for once things would work out right in the end.

You had absolutely no idea what happened in the week Peter was gone, but all of a sudden he was back and staring at you with an intensity you had only seen in romance movies. The sight and his words were enough to have you melting in his arms. “O-okay.” You agreed breathlessly, just staring up into his hazel eyes. “Peter-”

Then you were kissing, the sensation on your lips causing your eyelids to flutter shut. There was desperation and longing on both sides as your hands went to Peter’s hair while his went to your waist. You groaned when Peter tried to deepen the kiss, a shiver passing through your body as you felt the softness of his tongue on your lips.

You pulled away panting, eyes wide with a million questions. But first-

 “Why do you taste like the closed down burger joint from 5th?”


End file.
